A unit of Ukrainian drone pilots stationed in Pokrovsk have told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service they have become a high-value target for Russian forces.
Correspondent Yevhenia Kytaiva-Rusetska recently visited the destroyed frontline town for the first time in two months.
"The high-rise buildings are completely destroyed, but people are still living here. It has totally changed," she said.
Amid the destruction, several first-person view (FPV) drone operators were preparing for their next mission. The unit has had to take great care not to be spotted by Russian reconnaissance.
"When [Russian forces] search for us, they don't hold back. FPV drone pilots are their main target," said one soldier, identified by the call sign Maryachok. "They are no longer hunting snipers or artillerymen. They are hunting [drone] pilots," he added.
